Querrey has home-court edge

UCLA — When Sam Querrey takes the court at UCLA during the L.A. Tennis Open next week he’ll certainly have a home-court advantage.

The Santa Monica resident, who happens to be the 37th ranked player in the ATP rankings, practices at UCLA nearly every day he’s in town giving him what he hopes will be an edge.

“It is just kind of convenient,” Querrey, 21, said of the proximity. “I’m used to the court there.

“Hopefully I can do well. I’d love to win so close to home”

The rising star is coming off an appearance in the finals of the Campbell’s Hall of Fame Tennis Championships in Newport, R.I. earlier this month. He lost to Rajeev Ram, who was ranked 181st at the time.

The trip back to the Westside gives Querrey a pleasant problem. He said that friends and family have already begun bombarding him with ticket requests. Most of his family and friends live in Thousand Oaks, where he grew up.

“It’s cool to be close enough to home for family and friends to come see me play,” he said.

He’s received over 100 requests so far, but he knows there is no way he can accommodate everyone.

“It’s tough to get tickets [for this tournament],” he said.

He thinks he can scrape together 30 to 50 tickets, but said that he “feels bad taking free tickets to the tourney.”

This will be Querrey’s third time taking part in the tournament. He’s made it as far as the second round.